Bhaalspawn
In Forgotten Realms, the campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Bhaalspawn is a name given to all children of the fictitious Bhaal, Lord of Murder, who foresaw his own death during the Time of Troubles and fathered children who could one day be sacrificed for his return. :The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage. - From the writings of the seer Alaundo. During the storyline of the ''Baldur's Gate'' series of computer games the player (who is him or herself a Bhaalspawn) will encounter a number of Bhaalspawn, some as friends and some as enemies. Issue number #288 of Dragon Magazine contains an article detailing Bhaalspawn for 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons, enabling a Gamesmaster to effectively recreate the Baldur's Gate series of games for their own campaign, or to play a "post-games" campaign where not all of the Bhaalspawn were slain and where they retained the fragment of Bhaal's essence. Notable Bhaalspawn The Bhaalspawn came from a wide variety of races and backgrounds, from the humble to the powerful. Here are some of the known Bhaalspawn: Abazigal A male half-dragon (blue). He had one son, the half-dragon Draconis. He joined the alliance of Bhaalspawn known as the Five, and raised an army primarily consisting of non-humans. Balthazar A male human monk, and a member of the Five. The leader of a monastic order based in the town of Amkethran. Balthazar wanted to kill all of the other Bhaalspawn before committing ritual suicide, so that the evil essence of Bhaal would be "locked away" forever. He was eventually slain by Abdel Adrian. Gorion's Ward The Bhaalspawn raised by the sage, Gorion, at the great library of Candlekeep. Abdel Adrian is the protagonist of the novelization of the Baldur's Gate series. As such, he corresponds to the player character Bhaalspawn in the games. Due to the lack of any official name, the protagonist in the games as opposed to the novels is often referred to as "Charname" by the Baldur's Gate gaming community in reference to the designation given to this character in the game's code, which when the game is played is replaced by the name chosen by the player. Gromnir Il-Khan A male half-orc who briefly ruled Saradush while the city was under siege by Yaga-Shura. Illasera A female human, and one of the Five. Known as "Illasera the Quick" for her superhuman speed in combat. She was the first of the Five sent by Melissan to hunt down Abdel Adrian. Abdel manages only to defeat her in the novelization by resorting to his Bhaal-essence rage. Imoen Imoen is the half-sister of Gorion's Ward, although her identity as a fellow Bhaalspawn is unknown in the first game. She is extremely loyal to the player character and very cheerful despite the horrors she has seen. At the end of the series, she gives up her Bhaalspawn essence to kill Melissan and possibly elevate the protagonist to godhood. Sarevok Anchev Sarevok is a powerful fighter, the primary antagonist of the original Baldur's Gate and later revealed to be the half-brother of the protagonist. He has lost his essence of Bhaal after his resurrection in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, so technically he is no longer a child of Bhaal. Sendai A female drow and member of the Five. A powerful cleric and warrior, Sendai commanded an army of renegade Drow and other Underdark creatures before she was killed by the protagonist. Viekang Viekang is a male human, who is taken by fear whenever he encounters another Bhaalspawn. Through his tainted blood, fear causes him to teleport away whenever he is afraid, causing his encounters with Bhaalspawn to be brief. After meeting Melissan in Saradush, he seemingly loses this ability. It is possible for the player to scare Viekang into regaining his power. Yaga-Shura A male fire giant, and member of the Five. This powerful giant commanded an army of humanoids and giants and laid siege to the city of Saradush, where many Bhaalspawn were in hiding. To stop him, the protagonist discovered the secret to Yaga-Shura's invulnerability and destroyed it, making Yaga-Shura himself vulnerable. Before the protagonist was able to return to Saradush and kill Yaga-Shura, Yaga-Shura was able to breach the city's wall and slaughter all of the Bhaalspawn within. See also *Time of Troubles *Baldur's Gate series References Category:Forgotten Realms creatures